The Ripped Silk of Pawns
by Avril Lambert
Summary: In an attempt to defeat Hercules once and for all, Hades and Eris take Meg hostage and lure Hercules to the realm of chaos. Hercules has never heard of anyone surviving the realm of chaos and knows it's not likely that Meg is still alive. Will he risk it and walk right into Hades trap or assume she's dead and leave her at Eris' mercy? A short story about love, sacrifice and revenge
1. Chapter 1

Meg stared at her reflection with a raised eyebrow. Instead of her usual ponytail, her long wavy hair fell loosely down her back. Meg could tolerate that, though. It was the dress she was wearing that made her feel uncomfortable. It was a tight, full-length black dress made of the finest silk in the country. It had a corset top and off the shoulder, sheer long sleeves. Meg had never worn anything so nice or expensive before and she was afraid if she moved- even slightly- she would ruin the whole thing. She also didn't think it was appropriate to wear an all black dress to a ball that was honoring her fiancée. All she needed was a black veil over face and she'd be ready for a funeral.

"Look at you, Miss Megara! Don't you look beautiful!"

Meg glanced at the bedroom door through the reflection of the mirror. One of their new servants (Meg didn't remember her name) was walking towards her, holding a sheer, black shawl. When she reached Meg, she delicately draped the shawl over Meg's shoulders.

"Master Hercules is waiting for you downstairs."

"Thank you."

The woman gave Meg a smile, then turned and left the room. Meg checked her reflection one more time before taking a deep breath and heading downstairs. Hercules, looking as handsome as ever, greeted Meg with a smile as soon as he saw her.

"You look stunning," Hercules told her.

Meg smiled back at him. "Thank you."

"I have something for you." Hercules held out a square-shaped velvet box. He then slowly opened it, revealing a purple crystal on a white gold chain.

"Hercules, it's beautiful," Meg said as Hercules put the necklace on her.

"I'm glad you like it." Hercules leaned forward and kissed Meg's cheek. "We better leave or we're going to be late."

Hercules took Meg's hand and led her outside where a chariot was waiting for them. It didn't take long for them to arrive at the ball. When they got there, they were announced and Hercules received applause. Meg couldn't help feeling proud of him. As soon as they walked into the crowd, they were immediately separated. Everyone wanted a chance to talk to Hercules. Meg walked away from everyone else and stood in front of one of the white marble walls. Just like that, Meg became a wallflower at her own fiancée's ball.

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Several hours- Meg wasn't sure just how many- had gone by and Meg hadn't seen Hercules since they arrived. She was starting to get bored and wanted to leave. She scanned the crowd and was able to catch a quick glimpse of him. He disappeared among the people again, but Meg started walking towards where she had seen him.

All of a sudden, all of the lights went out. A couple of the women let out a scream and Meg stopped walking. She looked around, but couldn't see anything. A woman's laugh echoed around them and a single light came on, illuminating the top of the entrance staircase. Fear gripped Meg's heart and formed a lump in her throat. She didn't recognize the woman, but the man standing next to her, she knew all too well.

It was Hades.

"What a terrific party," the woman said. "It's a shame we weren't invited. We, too, would like a chance to get up close and personal with the great Hercules."

Hades slowly walked down the stairs and all the lights came back on. It was very easy to spot Hercules, since no one wanted to be anywhere near him now. Hercules was clearly angry and he didn't take his eyes off Hades. Then, as if it were rehearsed, the two of them started fighting. Meg wanted to help him, but her feet seemed to be nailed to the floor. What could she possibly do, anyway? Last time she tried to help Hercules, she was killed. As she watched them fight, however, it was obvious Hercules didn't need any help. Though Hades was using magic, Hercules was faster and stronger than him and Hercules was easily defeating Hades.

Suddenly, Meg felt herself being grabbed and a knife was held to her throat. Meg struggled to get free, but then she realized she was floating above everybody.

"Oh, Wonderboy..." the woman sang out.

"Eris, let her go!" Hercules demanded.

"As you wish."

Eris let go of Meg and she started falling towards the floor.

"Meg!" Hercules called out.

Meg braced herself to make impact with the floor, but Eris caught her at the last second. She was then lifted back into the air and he knife was back at her throat.

"We're done playing games," Eris hissed. Then, in a gust of wind, she and Meg were gone.

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Silence fell over the crowd as Hercules stared at the empty space in the air where Eris and Meg had just been. He turned back towards Hades, but he was now gone, as well. He let out a frustrated cry and slammed his fists into the ground. The floor cracked around his hands and everyone took a couple more steps away from him. He looked around at all of the horrified faces, but they just blurred together. Only Meg mattered now. He stormed out and raced back home, where he had left Pegasus.

"What happened?" Phil asked when he saw Hercules.

"Hades and Eris took Meg."

"Where did they take her?"

"I don't know."

"Then where are you going?"

Hercules wanted to snap at Phil for asking stupid questions, but he knew he was right. Hercules had no idea where they would have taken Meg. He knew Hades wouldn't take her back to the Underworld; it would be too easy to find her there.

Panic welled up inside Hercules as he realized Meg was most likely taken back to Eris' realm. None of the prisoners Eris had ever taken there survived. Of course, they would keep her alive long enough to draw Hercules there. But as soon as Hercules entered the realm, they would kill Meg without a second thought. Meg was just a pawn to them; her life meant nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

Meg had no idea how long she had been in the realm of chaos. Days? Weeks? Months? She had no way of knowing. Time didn't seem to exist here. It must have been a while, though, because Hades was getting frustrated. He was constantly ranting to himself and destroying things while Eris stood nearby, rolling her eyes.

Meg was shackled to a wall and wasn't close enough to them to hear their conversations and part of her was somewhat glad. She knew Hades would have a horrible plan to kill Hercules and Meg didn't want to hear about it. Not that it mattered; Hercules would come and defeat Hades again. Hades was no doubt powerful, but his ego would always be his downfall.

A shadow fell over Meg and she looked up. Eris was standing over her with one hand on her hip and one holding out a plate of food. Eris gracefully sank to her knees in front of Meg and set the plate on the floor. With the exception of when she kidnapped her, Eris had been nothing but nice to Meg. Meg had been wary of her at first, thinking this was all part of a good cop-bad cop routine. But, Eris had explained to Meg that she was only helping Hades because she was bored. It didn't take long for Meg to realize that Eris actually wasn't a bad Goddess. Sure, she caused chaos; but chaos was part of life and she was just doing her job. Sometimes, out of complete boredom, she might shake things up a little bit, but she didn't have evil intentions. Unlike Hades.

All in all, though, being their prisoner wasn't near as horrible as Meg had thought. Every once in a while, Hades would get angry and hit Meg or throw something at her. But, he didn't waste much of his energy on her; Hercules was his target.

"You need to eat," Eris' said, breaking into Meg's thoughts.

"I'm not hungry."

Meg knew it was taking too long for Hercules to arrive and part of her couldn't help thinking that maybe he couldn't find her. Or, even worse, he wasn't coming for her. This last thought had only recently crept into her head and it was enough to make Meg lose a little bit of hope. She hadn't slept or eaten in- what she assumed was- days.

Eris ran her hand over the plate of food and it disappeared in a puff of smoke. Meg glanced over Eris' shoulder and saw that Hades had left and they were now alone.

"What if Hercules doesn't come for me?" Meg asked.

"I'm sure Hades hasn't thought of that. I suppose he'll keep you here, thinking Hercules will eventually come for you." Eris shook her head. "Fool."

Meg sat up straight. "He'll come for me."

"Are you sure about that?" Eris asked.

"Yes." Meg tried to sound confident, but she knew she had failed.

"How terrible it must be to love someone whom you second guess and doubt." Eris' voice was mocking, but Meg knew that was her normal tone.

"He loves me, too." Meg didn't know what else to say. She didn't want to admit to Eris that she had been thinking that same thing.

"How could he not?" Meg looked up at Eris, expecting to see a sarcastic smirk on her face, but her expression was completely serious. "You're beautiful, smart, brave and strong."

Meg just stared at Eris. No one had ever used those words to describe her before; sassy and sexy were what she heard more often. Even Hercules never complimented her like that. Eris leaned forward a little bit and her hair flowed slowly back behind her. Her eyes were piercing, but Meg couldn't look away; she actually felt herself being drawn closer to her.

Without thinking, Meg kissed Eris, taking them both by surprise. Meg tried to pull away, but Eris kept her mouth firmly on hers. Meg closed her eyes and gave into the kiss. The kiss she had instigated but only now realized she actually wanted. Though, she didn't know why. She loved Hercules and only wanted him. So, why had she kissed Eris? And why was she enjoying it so much?

Eris' lips were softer than Hercules' and her mouth tasted sweeter. Meg couldn't help savoring each moment of the kiss. But, as Eris' hands started to wander over her body, Meg pulled away.

_What is wrong with you? _Meg scolded herself. What was she doing? Meg wasn't into other women, so why had she kissed Eris? Eris captured her and took her away from Hercules- the _man _she loved. Was Meg losing her mind? She had to be.

Meg backed up against the wall as far as she could to get away from Eris. Eris was a goddess; maybe she was playing tricks on Meg's mind to cloud her judgment. But, why would she do that? Meg didn't know. She wasn't sure of anything anymore. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her legs around them. She was so confused. She leaned back and closed her eyes. She tried to focus on Hercules, but Eris' face came to mind, instead. Meg opened her eyes. Eris was still in front of her. She hadn't moved and her face was expressionless.

Eris was beautiful; there was no denying that. She had long black hair, dark eyes and a flawless face. Not to mention a killer body.

_Of course she's gorgeous; she's a goddess, _Meg told herself.

"You're thinking about me," Eris accused with a sly smile. She leaned a little closer to Meg. "It's okay to give into what you want."

"I don't know what I want." Meg's voice sounded strange to herself. That's what she had been thinking, but it surprised her that she actually said it out loud.

"Are you having conflicting feelings for Hercules and me?"

Meg gave her a wary look. "I don't have feelings for you. I... I'm just lonely."

That made sense to Meg. She kissed Eris because she's lonely and got caught up in the moment. She wasn't attracted to Eris. At least, she didn't think she was.

But, when Eris kissed her again, Meg didn't pull away.


End file.
